With North Korea threatening a nuclear attack against the United States, and the Chinese regime’s ongoing military posturing in the South China Sea, the Un
With North Korea threatening a nuclear attack against the United States, and the Chinese regime’s ongoing military posturing in the South China Sea, the United States announced that its missile intercept system successful neutralized its fastest moving target to date in its latest test.
The United States tested its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system against an aerial launched ballistic missile, a spokesperson for the Missile Defense Agency said Tuesday.
During the test, a THAAD system located at Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska in Kodiak, Alaska, detected, tracked, and intercepted what Missile Defense calls “a threat representative intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) target.”
It was the first time THAAD had been tested against an IRBM, having previously taken down several shorter-range missiles.
Chris Johnson, MDA spokesman, said soldiers involved in the test did not know the date or time of the simulated attack ahead of time.
Johnson could not speak to the speed or altitude of the test missile, but said it did leave the atmosphere and was the longest and fastest threat missile tested so far.
The THAAD system is not geared for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) , which travel much faster and are countered in the U. S. by the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense. THAAD is aimed at short and intermediate range missiles more common to regional conflicts like those on the Korean Peninsula.
Johnson could not say whether the 14 successful tests of the system was a large number, but said the military had no doubts about its capability.
“We are entirely confident in this system. It has had a perfect track record, ” said Johnson.
His comments were echoed by superiors at MDA and manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
“I couldn’ t be more proud of the government and contractor team who executed this flight test today, ” said MDA Director Lt.
